Gadget World

Get, Slate, Go - I

This is a sort of second coming that ageing film-stars and out-of-work models would long for. The tablet was an all-but-dead product category, one that never really got off the ground sales-wise, despite the big push from Microsoft way back in 2002. But with the iPad, Apple's wiped the slate clean, opening up the flood gates for a slew of contenders that promise to revitalize an almost obsolete form factor, or to say, completely change the way we interact with our computers. Here's a small peek at what on the cards in 2010.

HP Slate :

Squint a little, and you could easily confuse the HP Slate with the Apple iPad. With a similar sleek profile and a large 8.9 inch capacitive display, it almost is. But it runs on the touch-enabled Windows 7 platform. Along with the netbook specs, it supports Flash and has got multi-tasking capabilities which the iPad lacks. It also packs in 2 built-in cameras (front and back) along with video recording. Looks like HP has all he iPad's bases covered, and then some more.

Notion Ink Adam :

Here's one from my country, India. Notion Ink, a small Indian start-up is talking big with the Adam. This Android based slate not only boasts of a sleek design, but also of the 1 GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 chip that acts both as a chip and a graphics card, allowing you to playback videos at 1080p on the 10 onch display. The real genius is he Pixel Qi screen which can switch from backlit LCD mode for web browsing to a low-power electrophoretic reflective mode for power saving (16 hours) and becomes easier on the eyes.

Fusion Garage JooJoo :
This is from the Singapore-based Fusion garage. Other than iPad, JooJoo is the only other slate that is commercially available at the moment. With a 12 inch screen this Intel Atom/Nvidia ion powered tablet promises full Flash HD and a decent interface over the custom Linux platform. But it misses out in many things - No Apps, no multi-tasking, no e-books and a 5 hour battery life.

More models to come in the next post.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

cellphones, google nexus one, xperia 10

Phones That Stand Out From The Rest

10:15 AM

New phones are launched each and every day, and most of them go unnoticed. After all, every company is not Apple, right??? Still, there are a few launches from companies other than Apple with does create some hype. So here's a few of the recently launched or to be launched products from the mobile world.

GOOGLE NEXUS ONE :

Google has managed to produce a great phone this time. Running on the latest version of Android 2.1, the Nexus One is a killer product. It looks more like the iPhone but is slightly slimmer and lighter. It flaunts a huge and gorgeous 800x480 OLED capacitive touchscreen, the best mobile display in the market today (according to reviews). It os powered by the Snapdragon 1 GHz processor which is cpable of handling multiple apps at the same time, 3-D graphics and anything...

SONY ERICSSON VIVAZ :

This phone is the successor to the 12.1 MP Satio. With an 8.1 MP camera, the Vivaz is also capable of HD video recording at 720p. The Vivaz is ergonomically designed to fit nicely in the hand. Even though the touchscreen is a resistive one and lacks the smoothness of the capacitive ones like the iPhone's or the HTC's, but its one of the best among those out there. SE has packed a lot of social-networking and multimedia features in it...but the main feature, as said before, is its HD video recording capability.

SONY ERICSSON XPERIA 10 (to be launched) :

The Xperia 10 is Sony Ericsson's first attempt at an Android phone. SE has manipulated the Android interface in the Xperia 10, with the Timescape and the Mediascape. The Timescape overlay combines all the notifications and missed calls and social network updates into one 'spine'. The Mediascape is a similar feature, but its for all the media files stored in the phione. Its quite a handy feature. It has got a huge 4 inch (800x480) capacitive touchsceeen (unfortunately, its not OLED, but looks pretty good). And with such a hige screen, the size of the phone too is quite big, but thanks to the design, it looks slicker than it actually is. Finally, even though the Xperia has not yet been launched, it has got the best camera from the Android family, a 8 MP one.

Will try to post about some other phones in my next post. Till then, enjoy these.

Monday, March 29, 2010

accessories, car chargers, car chargers for gadgets, cellphones, cigarette lighter socket, mobile chargers

Car charger for your favourite gadgets

7:26 PM

With a number of companies (mostly the so-called "Chinese" models) hitting the market with car chargers, you will have a scratch your head a bit to make the right choice. Here's a few of them....

1) New Genesis multi-pack Charger : This one is a cellphone charger, and can charge any cellphone, be it Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung etc. It comes with a number of different nibs to match the different kind of chargers for different models. it also has a LED to indicate the charging status and protects the battery from being over-charged.

2) 4-in-1 Cigarette Lighter Splitter : This one splits the power from the cigarette lighter of the car into 4 , thus allowing to use 4 different things at the same time.

3) Belkin AC Anywhere (in picture) : This one uses the 12-volt DC cigarette lighter socket and converts it into 230V AC, i.e., the common household current. It can power any USB-charged device, be it a laptop, camera, phone etc. The AC Anywhere has got safety features like an alarm system whenever the car battery drops to danger level, and an automatic power off if over-loaded.